Large or small age gap between kids?

Question

I'm hoping to have a fairly large age gap between my children. Aiming for more than 5 years. I hate the idea of having 2 or 3 babies/toddlers at the same time. I'd need at least one to be able to keep themselves occupied while I take care of the younger ones. Even better if they're able to help.  
Don't get me wrong, I love babies, but they're so much work and I know having more than one toddler would be awful. I give major props to parents who have their kids close in age. 
Do you/do you want your kids close in age? Why or why not? What are your experiences with it, and looking back, would you have done anything differently?

Answer

I personally like smaller age gaps. The kids are playmates and keep eachother company.  My son and #2 will be just under 3 years apart and that’s even bigger than I wanted. For me, I couldn’t go through the whole baby stage and toddler stage and have an independent kid and then start all over again.   But you need to do what’s right for you!

Answer

I’m having my first child at 40 so we need to get right onto the second about 6-9 months after this one is born. If it wasn’t for my age, we might wait a little longer but no more than a year. It will be really hard in the beginning but later in life they’ll be so close and can play together.

Answer

I have a 3 yr old, and am pregnant with my second. I like this age gap because my oldest is potty trained, can play independently, and follows directions. I like that she will be able to help me with little things such as grabbing a diaper or blanket, and she is able to understand that she needs to be more gentle with babies.

Answer

I’m more for bigger age gaps as well. My first and second are 7 years apart. My son understood the situation and was proud to be a big brother and be able to help. He understood that a baby needs more attention and will cry and need lots of sleep.
Number 2 and 3 will be 18 months apart and I’m honestly terrified of it. I’m trying to prepare my daughter as much as possible but there’s only so much she can understand at this age. I’m preparing for lots of crying and jealousy and tantrums. Yeah, it will be nice later on cause they’ll grow up together and possibly have similar interests compared to my older son and his younger siblings. But the next 2 years (at least) are gonna be hell

Answer

I always wanted a two year age gap but life happened. I left my oldest sons dad and wasn’t in the right place to have another child until he was 6. If our middle child was still alive he would be almost 3 now and our oldest is 9. We have a 6 month old daughter so her and her oldest brother are 9 years apart. It’s honestly awesome. He is so helpful and understands everything.

Answer

We have 2 year gap between each child.
4yo, 2yo & 3mo. all boys. 
My husband and I wanted them close together in hopes when they are older they'll be good friends and have a nice bond. He is number 3 of 6 kids all born within 9 years and their bond is great. Where I'm the youngest of 4 girls in 9 years and I feel we aren't very close at all due to age gaps.. this could be a personality thing though..
It is hard work but we are a great team. Our eldest is pretty easy going but our second is a very mischievous toddler who we have to watch as a hawk.  I don't attempt the shops on my own with all 3 but I figure they are only little for so long and it's not forever those little years. I'm 30 this year. If we had our first quite young like 20 I probably would have maybe pushed for a bigger gap after our second but we wanted to finishing having kids by the time we were 30 🙂

Answer

My daughter will be around 16 1/2 months old when I have my boy in September 😬 My sister’s kids are about 18 months apart and even though it was tough, they are best friends now! I feel like no matter when you have kids it’ll be hard  🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer

I prefer bigger gaps. Mine are 2.5 years apart, and I wish we waited. I mostly wanted my first to want a sibling and be able to understand what was going on. My first is 3.5 now and has started talking about having babies and wanting a sister, so I wish we’d waited until now to try. The hardest thing for me when I brought home #2 was dealing with the guilt and regret as I watched my first struggle with this huge change and I couldn’t really reason with him to explain why I needed to tend to baby first sometimes. I love my second and all, but ideally we would’ve waited. If we ever have a third we’ll wait until our second is 4-ish.

Answer

I wish I could have a 3 year age gap. I could not imagine anything less than that. Kids are a ton of work and I can’t imagine have 2 close in age.
However. If I’m lucky I’ll get a 4 year age gap. The reason I need that is because we can’t afford to have 2 in daycare at the same time. First daughter goes to school, daycare costs are replaced by second baby. In a perfect world, this is how it will happen 🤞

Answer

My sons will have an almost 3 year age gap when the next one comes, I honestly think it’s perfect because even now he’s independent and loves to play and listens easy, he will definitely be a big help when his brother comes but also close enough that they can play together and keep each other occupied. It was important that they were closer in age for when they are older it makes a huge difference! My other thought is i would rather do all the baby toddler etc stuff witin a close time frame because i dont want my son starting kindergarten then im starting all over again

Large or small age gap between kids?

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